Chamber Chatter for July 25th - Debbe Ridley

As we count down the days in July, the smoke has cleared from a fabulous Marlow 4th of July and all the closets and attics have been cleaned out and the contents sold at Second Chance Trade Days. You may be looking for something close by to entertain yourself for a few hours. If you haven’t been to the Marlow Area Museum for a while, we’ll remind you that it’s open each week for visitors this summer. With our Marlow Area Museum hostess Pat Gilland on board, you can visit on Fridays and Saturdays between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The Museum is truly a “Marlow area museum.” This lead paragraph in a December 13, 1917 Marlow Review article will help set the stage for what you’ll discover. “MARLOW; PAST AND PRESENT. The history of Marlow when written will read like some of the famous tales in the story book. It began as a camp for drifting cow punchers and outlaws, in what was known at that time as Marlow Grove, named for the band of out-laws [sic] that made their headquarters in a cave on Wildhorse, somewhere near the present sight of the old cement plant, and old timers remember their lookout in the top of the trees overlooking the cave.”

“Wildhorse creek, near the robber’s den had long been noted for its everlasting springs of clear sweet water and probably determined their headquarters. The grove finally fell before the settlers axe and the name finally became Marlow.”

There are exhibits in the Museum featuring local pioneers, history and color. The special area created by the members of the Marlow family holds many artifacts of the family and the Marlow brothers. Included is the original tombstone of Alfred, Boone, and Lewellyn from the Finis, Texas cemetery.

Following the release of Life of the Marlows - A True Story of Frontier Life of Early Days a few years ago, more attention than ever has been drawn to the Museum. For the convenience of the visitors, Life of the Marlows, A Pilgrim Shadow, is available for purchase in the Museum. You can also purchase the Outlaw Ride CD while there.

More displays teach us the history, growth and contributions to the community of local churches, the newspaper, local schools, local banks, a drug store, a funeral home, a lumber yard, the fire department, the hospital and clinic, and the telephone company. A military exhibit with displays from the Mexican War of 1848 through Desert Storm is one of the highlights, as are the displays put in place by various pioneer families from the community.
A special area displays photos of Marlow from as early as 1898, as well as photos of most of Marlow’s mayors dating from 1912. Recollections of living in early day Marlow from citizens who lived through the times are also a part of the Marlow Area Museum.
The Museum provides the visitor with a vivid look back in time to Indian Territory and its development as Oklahoma.

If you haven’t visited the Marlow Area Museum in a few years, it’s high time to take a trip back in time there. Additional exhibits and items are continually added. And, if you’ve never been, and (yikes!) don’t even know where it is, just drop by the Marlow Mercantile at 127 W. Main, and follow the ramps up to the 3rd floor where space is donated to house memories of Marlow past. You’ll be glad you did!